


Read me your new chapter

by Zafhira



Series: Read to me [2]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Angst, Coffee Shops, Gen, Loki (Marvel) Needs a Hug, M/M, Thor want to be a good bro, Tony Does What He Wants, Tony Stark Has A Heart, but Thor is also a blind bro, hela the fat cat, mentions of self harm
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-23
Updated: 2018-01-23
Packaged: 2019-03-08 16:39:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,785
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13462245
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Zafhira/pseuds/Zafhira
Summary: Tony has started on his search for the sad boy, and sometimes luck is on his side.





	Read me your new chapter

**Author's Note:**

> Hello guys! Here's the next part of the "read to me" series! This isn't as trigger warning as the last one, but still be aware of the main themes in this. Hope you guys enjoy this one and hopefully I'll start on the next part soon!

14:46

The ER was as white and sterilized and boring as Tony remembered it. Entering the gloomy waiting room sent chills down his spine, and Tony had to focus really hard not to barf. But Tony remembered what the nurse had said about Loki going to the ER every other day and hey if this was the best shot he got at seeing Loki and making sure he wouldn't do anything stupid, it was worth it.

Although on second thought if Tony saw the kid here it meant he'd already done something stupid. This wasn't very well thought out, but hey Tony was the king of stupid and not thinking things out so he shouldn't be too surprised.

There weren't a lot of people in the waiting area. A kid with a broken leg, a man with an arrow coming from his shoulder and a sorry looking teenager with a bow sitting by his side and boy would Tony have paid to hear that story. There was also some old guys sitting and chatting about the olden golden days, reminiscing the time "that hot chick touched my butt. It was awesome."

The girl behind the counter looked up at him with her bored eyes, chewing slowly on a piece of gum. She had dark hair and glasses and looked like she could be Loki's half-sister or something. If her goal was to look as stereotypically boring as they showed on TV she was succeeding. "Can I help you?" she asked, in that tone that said, "I don't really want to help you, it's your fault you're here, now leave me the fuck alone." Tony just flashed her his signature smile. "Yeah, I'm looking for a kid. Black hair, kinda edgy, kinda looks like he wants to disappear from the face of the earth, will probably find his picture in the dictionary by the word "emo." Heard of him?"

By the time Tony mentioned "edgy" the girl had stopped chewing her gum. She looked at him suspiciously. "What do you want with him? Do you even know him? I can't tell shit about the patients here y'know."

Bingo. "Well, yeah I know Loki. And I know you can't spoil the fun, but if you can just answer some simple yes or no questions you technically won't have said any crucial information. So, let's get started!" The girl made a small annoyed huffing noise before she gestured for Tony to go on. Tony did totally not act on the feeling of triumph he felt deep inside.

15:30

If Thor was any more stupid than he already was Loki would have donated his brother's brain to science. As it was, Thor was just one point above cricket, which was exactly why the idiot looked at Loki once and asked: "What happened?" As if he'd never seen cuts on Loki's arms before. Loki didn't even deem that worthy of an answer so he huffed and ignored his brother. Thor, ever the sentimental puppy, almost ran over to where Loki was sitting, several tissues stained with blood on the table. "You need to get to the ER, come on. I can drive you," Thor tried, gently sneaking his hand around Loki's waist to try and help him up. Loki just pushed him away with his good arm, cringing when lightning pain shot up his arm. The constant beating was easier to handle if he just didn't move.

"Why the fuck are you in my room, Thor? I didn't ask for your help. Besides, it was an accident."

Normally it wasn't, but this time it actually was just an accident. The stupid neighbour cat had climbed into Loki's room, and in Loki's attempt to hush it out it had jumped up and clung to his arm. But of course, since the cat was so fat it couldn't hold on and just ended up tearing the skin up. Fucking cat. Loki was never letting Hela into his room ever again.

"You say that all the time Brother, now come on. ER, before mum sees this." And that really was the magic word because Loki got up very slowly, facing the door. "It was an accident. The fucking cat got into my room and decided it needed a new claw toy and lo and behold there was my arm just conveniently three meters away. Now let's get out of here before mum comes home. Or better, Odin, he might actually kill me this time."

Thor gave him one of his disappointed looks but didn't comment. He was tired of this conversation, so instead, he lead the way through the house and down to his car, only stopping long enough to grab some towels and giving them to his brother. When he opened the passenger door Loki just huffed before he got in, slamming the door shut.

The drive to the ER was done in silence, with Thor just trying twice to ask Loki why he kept doing this. Loki ignored him, opting for looking out the window and observing how New York flashed by. He knew this route by heart now, could close his eyes and know when the first speedbump would occur, could smell the market and their almost fresh foods. , And before Loki could fall asleep they would arrive at the ER.

"You go on inside, I'll park in the parking lot and wait for you," Thor said before he patted Loki's shoulder twice. Loki just huffed again before he left Thor to his own thoughts and entered the ER. He expected this to go as it usually did. Doctor Eir would take one look at him before she signed him up for stitches, and in about 43 minutes he would walk out of there with some new stitches to his collection. Or even better; staples. What Loki didn't expect was to almost crash into the stranger from yesterday, the guy shouting "Holy shit balls!" when he saw just who it was blocking the door.

Loki didn't want to talk to the stranger, because that's what he was. It had almost seemed like the guy cared yesterday, and Loki wanted to remember that. He didn't want to talk to the stranger and hear that "You know what you were only a part of my work, I never expected to see you again so this is awkward and let's pretend it never happened." But to his surprise, the stranger just looked at him. "Well how about that, I guess I have to be lucky sometimes. I was looking for you. Come one, let's get that arm checked out. What happened? The cat?" the stranger said before holding the door open for him.

The constant drumming in Loki's ears suddenly disappeared. This stranger, Tony, had looked for him. Him, Loki. Was willing to follow Loki back inside to get his arm checked out. "Yes, the cat," he mumbled before he hesitantly stepped inside, looking around the waiting room. Nothing unusual, except the old man with an arrow in his shoulder and the sorry looking kid with a bow. Loki would have to ask Darcy about that one.

There was a soft hand on Loki's back and for a moment he could feel his body flinch. The hand quickly disappeared. Someone, Tony, cleared their throat softly behind him. "You ready?"

Taking a deep breath, Loki nodded. Eir was waiting for him at the other side of the room, glancing curiously at Tony. Loki would get through this, and for once, he wasn't alone.

16:12

In the end, Loki got fifteen stitches on together four cuts and a white bandage. Loki was glad his jacket had long sleeves, hiding it away. Stupid fucking cat. The not-so-strange stranger had stayed through it all, talking about himself and keeping Loki's attention on him and not on Eir. Eir was a godsent nurse, never blaming Loki for anything and always treated him in kind. She'd smiled when she saw Loki wasn't alone and treated Tony kindly as well. Loki had asked her on several occasions if she could adopt him.

It had taken a while before Loki realised that the Tony who was being almost like a friend to him was Tony Stark of Stark Industries. He didn't know much about him, never one for celebrities, but every human being on this earth knew about the Prodigal Son of Howard Stark.

Loki hoped he could get to know this person behind the mask, the one he had seen and not the media. If Tony didn't get tired of him that was. And who was Loki to think this was something more than just these two incidents? Of course Tony had been looking for him, but that didn't mean anything special, right? Why was he hoping for something as ridiculous as a friendship? Shaking his head Loki pushed those hopes away, trying to forget they ever existed.

Or, that was until Tony spoke when they exited the ER. "Hey, I have some spare time right about now, and I wondered if you wanted to grab something to eat? You look like you haven't eaten a cake since half past never, and there's a coffee shop two blocks from here that sells the best cupcakes in town."

Bloody hell. Tony Stark had just asked him, Loki, if he wanted to eat cupcakes with him. If Loki didn't know better he'd say the cat had managed to send him into a coma because this was not happening. Stupid fucking cat. Loki would have to thank her when he got home. As for now, Loki just nodded and went after Tony.

They walked the two blocks in silence. It was nice. Almost as if everything was how it should be if it weren't for the stinging sensation in his arm but Loki tried to ignore it. Tried to focus on the person by his side who was humming a soft medley. Loki almost didn't notice they'd arrived, only glancing away from Tony when he heard the bell above the door.

The place was nice. Old fashioned, and Loki almost wept real tears when he saw it was a book cafe. God, it'd been a long time since he'd been in a book cafe. There were shelves with old classic books, ranging from Shakespeare and Marlowe to Hemmingway and Agatha Christie. Loki's fingers itched to read them, but one glance at Tony's satisfied smile stopped him.

"Knew you'd like this place. Come on, name your wish and I shall pay for this exquisite meal for thine pleasure."

Loki almost blushed, quickly turning away to look at the menu items. "I'll have the lemon balm tea, and the red velvet cream cupcake please."

"Wow, good choice," Tony said. He went up to the counter and repeated Loki's order. "And I'll have one americano and the oreo cake. Gotta have my daily dose of caffeine."

The lady behind the counter just smiled and fixed their orders in record time. It didn't even take a minute before they were seated in a booth at the far end of the shop. Loki appreciated the illusion of privacy the booth gave.

"So, you probably know everything about me. I want to know a little bit more about you." Loki froze. "No, not in that kind of way. Tell me about the guy behind all that. What are your hobbies? Favourite colour? Favourite books? And so on. What age are you really 'cus you look like you're fifteen," Tony quickly added. "I'm trying to know you, not your story. Yet."

The tea in Loki's hands was warm. It had a calming effect, or maybe it was Tony's presence, but Loki took a deep breath and started talking.

"Uhm... I'm not fifteen. I'm actually seventeen in a couple of weeks. My hobbies include reading, writing and exploring. I am a lover of animals, I volunteer at the local shelter. My favourite colour is green, like a forest green, and I simply can't choose a favourite book but at the moment I am reading "Ocean at the end of the Lane" by Gaiman. Books with a great imagination behind it never fail to amaze me."

He gently took a sip of the tea, revelling in the taste. He could almost hear Tony smiling to himself from across the table. "Damn, a man of my own taste. Almost. Gotta say though, I'm in shock. How can you volunteer at an animal shelter and then get beat up by a cat? Don't you have to be an animal whisperer to work there?"

Glaring at Tony, Loki did almost not deem that worthy of an answer. And then he stopped. "Wait, you believe me?"

Tony looked at him confused. "About being scratched by the cat? Well, yeah. Why wouldn't I? That's what you told me."

If Loki hadn't already been seated he would have had to sit down because the pure shock running through his body was... a shock. This stranger that had just headbutted into his life believed him when no one else had, ever. This stranger that had looked at Loki like a fellow human being instead of the scum of the earth. Who had read to him and treated him kindly when he was at his lowest.

Tony must have sensed the conflict going on inside Loki's head because suddenly there was a plate of red velvet cupcake almost showed up Loki's nose. "Here, you haven't even tried it yet. It's amazing."

A huge chunk of the cupcake was missing. Tony was trying, and failing miserably, to hide the huge piece of cake he had shoved in his mouth. He even had cream on his chin, and it was not the light brown one from his own oreo cake.

For the first time in years, Loki laughed. He genuinely laughed, covering his mouth with both hands. Tony looked at him for two seconds before the biggest and brightest grin spread on his face. Suddenly they were both laughing. Once Loki started he couldn't stop. Soon he was hiccuping and crying. Ton was snorting, trying not to spit out the cake in his mouth. It only made Loki laugh even harder.

And then Loki's phone rang. Tony almost stopped Loki from answering the phone when he saw Loki's smile disappear in a heartbeat, his brows furrowing. Loki mumbled something about "idiot brother" before answering. "What, I thought you had left by now."

Tony couldn't hear what the idiot brother said, but he could guess how well the conversation was going to Loki's facial expression. It almost looked like it pained him to talk with the guy, something Tony guessed wasn't far from the truth. And then they switched from English to another language Tony had never heard before, and the conversation was lost on him. What was not lost on him was the angry tone entering Loki's voice the more he talked.

The conversation ended in a "drit i det" before Loki hung up and showed his phone back into his pocket. "I'm so sorry, but I have to leave, Thank you, for everything. You've been so kind to me, and I truly appreciate it. How can I ever repay you?"

There was an awkward silence between them as Loki got up, not daring to look at Tony. This was it. This was goodbye. They were both going back to their lives and they would never see each other again. The thought of going back was almost too much for Loki, a lump in his throat made it hard to swallow down the sadness he felt, but it was different than the feeling he usually had. It was almost heavier, something Loki never in his wildest imaginations would have thought possible.

"Well, you can repay me by giving me your number. I'd like to see you again. We didn't get much time today so I was hoping, you know, to hang out again, do something funny, keep talking. I want to know more about you."

The words caught Loki by surprise. His heart skipped a beat and then he smiled. "I would like that as well," he answered quietly, almost too quietly. They exchanged numbers quickly before saying their goodbyes, this time it was easier because they knew they would see each other again, and then they left.

On his way to Thor's car, Loki remembered he hadn't even tasted his cupcake, so he fished out his phone and wrote "didn't even get to taste the cupcake," hesitated for two seconds before pressing Send, and before he could put his phone back he had an answer. "Definitely need to fix that asap."

Maybe things were looking up for Loki.

**Author's Note:**

> "Drit i det" - literally translated to "shit in it" because norwegian is a lovely language, but the meaning is a mix of "fuck it" and "just forget it."


End file.
